Meaning & use
alternative life
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Meanings
phrasecountable
a way of living that is different from the usual or expected one, often chosen deliberately.
Grammar: Countable: an alternative life, alternative lives. Often used with 'a' or 'the'.
Patterns
- an alternative life
- live an alternative life
- choose an alternative life
After years in the city, they moved to a farm and started an alternative life.
Some people leave their jobs to live an alternative life by the sea.
She wanted an alternative life, not the same routine as her parents.
phrasecountable
an imagined or possible life that is different from your real one.
Grammar: Often used in stories or daydreams: imagine an alternative life.
Patterns
- imagine an alternative life
- dream of an alternative life
- an alternative life for someone
In the novel, the hero dreams of an alternative life in another country.
Sometimes I wonder what my alternative life would be like if I had studied music.
The film shows an alternative life where the main character never left home.
Word forms
| plural | alternative lives |
|---|
Common combinations
- live an alternative life
- He decided to live an alternative life away from the city.
- imagine an alternative life
- She likes to imagine an alternative life as a painter.
- an alternative life for someone
- Moving abroad gave them an alternative life for their family.
- a completely alternative life
- They built a completely alternative life in the mountains.
Synonyms and how they differ
- different life
- Different life is neutral and simply states that a life is not the same; alternative life often suggests a deliberate choice or contrast with the norm.
- alternative lifestyle
- Alternative lifestyle is more common and often refers to a way of living that is unusual or outside the mainstream, sometimes with a judgmental tone.
Opposites
Word family
- alternatively adverb
- Used to introduce another possibility.
- alternative noun
- One of two or more choices.
Commonly confused: alternative life or alternate life?
alternative life vs alternate life
Alternate life is less common and can mean a life that happens in turn or every other time; alternative life is the usual phrase for a different way of living.
Practice
After retiring, he sold his house and moved to a small village to live a(n) ___ life.
Choose one answer.
Alternative life means a different way of living. Alternate life is not the usual phrase and would suggest a life that takes turns with another, which does not fit here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “alternative life”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.